LaRocca leads the Red Raiders to victory

By Jadon CeravoloDaily Messenger Freelancer

Friday

Oct 26, 2018 at 9:55 PMOct 26, 2018 at 9:55 PM

The Palmyra-Macedon girls soccer team claimed the Section V Class B1 title with a 2-1 victory over Newark

The Pal-Mac Red Raiders girls soccer team entered Friday night’s matchup against the Newark Reds in hopes of becoming Section V Class B1 champions. Mission accomplished for the Red Raiders, as they walked away with a 2-1 win over the Reds.

Pal-Mac has made a name for itself in recent years, winning Sectionals in two of the three past seasons. Head coach Mike Karns mentioned after the game what that means for his program.

“It’s great,” Karns said. “We’ve lost a ton of kids. I only have four girls on this teams that played two years ago. So, I think it says a lot about our program.”

One of those four players who has been a part of both Sectional titles is Senior captain Abie LaRocca. The forward was the difference-maker on Friday night, scoring both of Pal-Mac’s goals in the narrow victory.

LaRocca spoke after the awards ceremony and said what it means winning it all for a second time.

“Honestly, I think it’s a great way to end Senior year. It’s going to be super memorable,” LaRocca said. “We won Sectionals two years ago, but I was younger, so I felt like I was less of a part of it. This has been my team since day one. It’s almost just more meaningful.”

LaRocca’s first goal came in the seventh minute and was assisted by fellow Senior forward Emma Arnold. That gave Pal-Mac an early 1-0 advantage and that score stayed put for the remainder of the first half.

The Red Raiders came out in the second half looking to add to its lead and they did just that relatively quickly. In the 52nd minute Junior midfielder Madi Keller had a pretty pass to LaRocca and she put it in the back of the net to extend the lead to 2-0.

Scoring would then be at a standstill for 10-plus minutes and it wasn’t looking promising for Newark. But the Reds wouldn’t go down without a fight. They put a lot of pressure on Pal-Mac’s goalkeeper at point-blank range in the 65th minute and the Reds ended up scoring on a Red Raiders own goal. The energy in the stadium instantly shifted as it was a one-goal game with 15 minutes to play.

However, Pal-Mac buckled down and wouldn’t allow a goal for the remainder of the game. As a result, they walked away with a 2-1 victory. And more importantly, they were crowned Sectional champions in Class B1.

For LaRocca, this feeling is about as sweet as it gets for a Senior. Though, the road doesn’t stop here for the Red Raiders. Their next test is Regionals, and with a few wins they could pair a State Championship with their fresh Sectional title.

“I hope we keep going,” said LaRocca. “But this is definitely one to remember.”

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